The Captive King
| The Captive King | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Joseph Wright of Derby |
| Year | 1772 |
| Dimensions | 33.6 cm × 39.5 cm (13.2 in × 15.6 in) |
| Location | Derby Museum and Art Gallery, Derby |
The Captive King is a sketch by Joseph Wright of Derby completed in 1772 or 1773. The sketch is thought to be a preparation for a now lost painting of the French crusader Guy de Lusignan in Prison.
Description
The sketch was titled The Captive King and it shows the French nobleman Guy de Lusignan held prisoner by Saladin. Lusignan had fought Saladin on the 4th July 1187 and he was taken prisoner following his armies defaeat. It is said that the relics from the true cross were also lost during this battle.[1] Lusignan who came from near Poitiers in France had become the King of Jerusalem due to a marriage. Eventually Lusignan was released by Saladin and he went on to rule Cyprus. The sketch by Joseph Wright contains annotations by his friend Peter Perez Burdett.[2] Wright had taken lessons from Burdett in perspective and consulted him over the construction of his paintings.
History
The sketch was one of at least three which Wright constructed before painting two similar paintings concerning the captured crusader. The sketches were sent to Peter Perez Burdett in Liverpool for his comment in the winter of 1772 to 1773 before Wright constrcted the smaller of the paintings which was exhibited at the Society of Artists in 1773 with a version of the The Blacksmith's Shop. Wright had hoped to sell a version of The Captive King to Markgraf Karl Friedrich in 1774. Friedrich was to eventually employ Burdett when he moved to Germany to avoid his debts - including money owed to Wright.[3] A larger version of the painting which was 40 inches by 50 inches was in the possession of Wright's son-in-law after it was sold in 1810. There is no report of it after that in Nicolson's book on Wright's work.[3] In 1774 and 1778 Wright painted paintings with a similar subject of a man abandoned in prison, but the later paintings concerns an extract from a contemporary novel. The last of these was Sterne's Captive exhibited in 1778.[4]
References
- ^ A dictionary of military history and the art of war p.350, André Corvisier, John Childs, 1994
- ^ Room 4: Gothic Gloom, The Tate, London
- ^ a b Joseph Wright of Derby:Painter of Light, Benedict Nicolson
- ^ "Pictures". Lowell Libson Ltd. Retrieved 30 June 2011.